The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has projected priority sector credit target of ₹3.59 lakh crore for Karnataka during 2023-2024, which is 8% higher than the projection of the previous year, said the State Focus Paper for 2023-2024, which was released in Bengaluru on Monday.

According to Chief General Manager of NABARD T. Ramesh, of the total estimated credit potential of ₹3.59 lakh crore, the share of the agriculture sector, including agri infrastructure and ancillary activities, is ₹ 1.79 lakh crore (50%), the share of the MSME sector is ₹1.35 lakh crore (38%), and that of the other priority sector is ₹.45 lakh crore (12%).

Keeping in view the Union and the State governments’ priorities for accelerating and sustaining agricultural growth and enhancing farmers’ income, special thrust has been given to capital formation in agriculture and allied activities, he added.

He indicated that the ground-level credit flow during 2021-2022 was slightly muted, which was owing to the low offtake of credit as an aftermath of the pandemic and consequent restructuring of agri loans that restricted farmers from availing fresh credit.

Muted offtake was also owing to technical issues in data capturing in the revamped GLC portal. In 2022-2023, 43% of the target was achieved by the end of September 2022.

The State Focus Paper is an aggregate of sector-specific potentials assessed through the district plans, and the paper also identifies the critical infrastructure gaps, other linkage support, and key policy issues requiring appropriate interventions from various stakeholders, a note from NABARD said.